While I’m not looking forward to giving him the answer, I need to get it over with.
Stuffing my face with saltines, I make my way home.
When I pull up to my cabin, Goldie is walking out of the one next door.
I’ve seen her around, but I haven’t gotten much of a chance to chat with her one-on-one, so I rush to get out. “Hi. How are you?”
“Good.” She props one hand on her hip. “If you need me to do anything in your cabin, sweeping and stuff, let me know.”
I’d never ask her to clean up after me. “I’m fine. Do you clean all the cabins around here?”
“The main house and a few of the ranch hands’ cabins. Not all. Some prefer to handle it on their own.”
Now my curiosity is piqued. “Like who?”
“Parker. Before Kent moved, he always cleaned his own cabin, but Ava helped me talk him into letting me mop and clean bathrooms for him. Grayson and Tyler aren’t living in the cabins any longer.”
“Parker probably doesn’t want to make your job harder.”
“Exactly what he said.” Goldie laughs. “Verbatim.”
“Do you want to come in for a minute? I have tea.”
Maybe she recognizes my desperation. Because after a glance at her phone, she smiles. “Sure. Sounds nice.”
“Thanks. I hope you like Earl Grey.” I push open my door and wave her in. “Have you been working here long?”
“About a year.” Her gaze lands on the box of saltines on my counter. “I like it. Ava and I met at church, and Dag and I have been friends since high school. So I already knew people when I moved to the ranch. What about you?”
I should have put the crackers away, but people who aren’t pregnant eat crackers, right? I’m overly sensitive right now and feel like I have a blinking neon sign that gives away my secret.
“I know Beau and Clint from the times I’ve been out to care for animals. And Parker’s older sister is my good friend, so I’ve known him forever.” I fill a saucepan with water and set it on the stove. “Thanks for taking time. I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
“Having a friend who isn’t checking out women as we’re chatting is nice.” Behind her smile is hurt. “So I’m glad you asked.”
“Are all the ranch hands like that?”
“I meant Dag. He’s a bit of a player.” She crosses her arms. “But he is the reason people stopped picking on me in high school. Everyone wanted to be Dag’s friend, so when he told them to leave me alone, they listened. And when he discovered that we have the same birthday, we were instant friends. So in spite of the way he behaves, we’re good friends.”
I add teabags to our mugs, then pour hot water in. “Maybe he’ll realize one day. It’s nice that you’ve been such a good friend to him.”
She accepts the tea and bounces the teabag up and down. “I care about him. And I’ve seen how kind he can be.”
“That makes sense.” I stare into my mug, trying to decide if I should ask her advice about my situation.
“Everything okay?” After a sip, she sets her mug on the counter. “You just had a look.”
“I’m mostly okay. I have a bit of a situation, and a friend has offered to help. But it would mean a huge sacrifice for them, and I’m not sure I can live with myself if I accept. I know that’s vague, but that’s what’s on my mind.”
Running her finger along a line in the Formica countertop, she’s quiet a second. “I’m not sure if this is helpful, but if Dag needed me, I’d sacrifice almost anything to help him. That’s because I care about him. So maybe your friend cares about you like I care about Dag.”
It’s a nice thought, but short of asking Parker, I won’t know that’s true. And even if it were true, is that reason enough to let him sacrifice his happy future?
“Maybe. I’m just not sure.”
She cradles her mug. “Here’s another story for you. When my grandpa was young, he worked construction. One of the other guys on the crew gave my grandpa a ride to work every day because my grandpa and his brother shared one car. The guy didn’t live far away, so Grandpa walked over to the house every morning. Then one day, some scaffolding broke while they were working, and his friend was badly injured. My grandpa took the car and drove to tell the wife. She had small children, so he stayed there while she went up to the hospital.”
“That was a kind thing for him to do.”
